A major biennial international event related to the Indian defence industry that is organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), is being held from February 05 to 08 this year for the first time in Lucknow, the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Christened as DefExpo 2020, the theme of the 11th edition of the event is ‘India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub’ and the focus is on ‘Digital Transformation of Defence’. Choice of Lucknow as the venue for DefExpo 2020 is significant as the MoD has already announced plans for the establishment of the UP Defence Industry Corridor for manufacturing military hardware. A detailed report by Air Marshal Sukhchain Singh on the establishment of Defence Industry Corridors in the country, has been included in this issue of SP’s Aviation.

The other international event related to the domain of aerospace and defence industry that follows close on the heels of DefExpo 2020, is the Singapore Airshow. The seventh edition of this event is scheduled to be held at Changi Exhibition Centre, Singapore from February 11 to 16 this year. This issue of SP’s Aviation carries a detailed preview of the Singapore Airshow by Ayushee Chaudhary of SP Guide Publications.

A major problem afflicting the Indian Air Force (IAF) today is the depleting strength of its combat fleet due to obsolescence. The size of the combat fleet of the IAF is set to reach an alarming level of 29 squadrons in the not distant a future as against the government authorised level of 42 squadrons to cope with war simultaneously on both the Northern and Western fronts. In this issue of the magazine, Vishal Thapar of SP Guide Publications has a review of the dismal state of the combat fleet of the IAF.

Emission of gases from aero engines that are injurious to the environment and in the long term perspective, affects climate change, has indeed become a matter of global concern. Original equipment manufacturers the world over are striving to develop new technologies to reduce emission of gases from aero engines that are harmful to the environment. A detailed report by Ayushee Chaudhary of SP Guide Publications on the ongoing efforts by the global aerospace industry to address this problem has been included in this issue of the magazine. Also, the manner in which traffic congestion is increasing in practically all major cities across the world, the industry to taking a serious look at the Unmanned Air Taxi which is likely to be the next big transformation in the domain of aviation. In this issue of the magazine, Ayushee Chaudhary has a report on this development in the domain of aviation.

SP Guide Publications is proud to share that 7 articles by our journalists, in four categories, have been shortlisted for finals in the upcoming Aerospace Media Awards - Asia. These are the most prestigious awards in Aerospace Media and the number of nominations for finals received by us are amongst the highest by a publishing company, which includes global leaders and heavyweights. Details of the nominations can be seen on pages 16 and 17 inside.

All this and more in this issue of SP’s Aviation. Welcome aboard and we wish you many happy landings! Do visit us in Hall 3 Stall Q47 in DefExpo 2020.

Jai Hind!